Mauritania 1-0 Algeria: Underdogs claim historic win as Algeria sent crashing out

Mauritania achieved a historic milestone by securing their first-ever victory at the Africa Cup of Nations, and to make it taste sweeter, it came against one of the continent’s traditional powerhouses, Algeria. Remarkably, this triumph propels Mauritania to the next round, while Algeria goes back home from the tournament without a win, marking this campaign as a memorable catastrophe for them.

All records were beaten When Mohamed Yali Dellahi scored on 37 minutes, it was the first time Mauritania had ever led in an Africa Cup of Nations match.

Algeria displayed a woeful performance against Mauritania, showing a glaring absence of cohesion and organizational structure. On a different day, they could have suffered an even more significant defeat.

However, the consequences had already unfolded, as Mauritania had taken the lead by then. Algeria’s actions seemed somewhat desperate, and with a second consecutive group-stage exit, Coach Djamel Belmadi faces a challenging task to retain his position as the team’s manager. Belmadi marked history as the first African coach to be eliminated twice in a row in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations.